It is always with a sense of pride that Michael Suut, secretary of the Tang Itong Smart Community, dons the “kuyu talun”, a traditional Lun Bawang vest made from the talun tree bark, at official functions and cultural festivals.

Enthusiasts who have the desire for the earthy feel and artistic touch of authentic Sarawak native handicraft can now purchase the talun-made kuyu, topee and other souvenirs directly from Tang Itong, thanks to the commercially viable cottage industry run by this award-winning smart community in Lawas under the Sarawak Information Department.

The Tang Itong Smart Community, which consists of two Lun Bawang villages – Tok Payang and Tang Itong – about seven kilometres from Lawas town in northern Sarawak, was adjudged the best smart community of 2008 from among the 144 in the state, and is currently under evaluation for the national title.

“The best thing about the smart community is that it keeps the villagers, especially the youths, informed of current issues as we have two computers with Internet access through the Information, Communications and Culture Ministry’s website,” said Suut, 46, when alluding to the role of the smart community as a platform to disseminate government policies via a central point to the people living in a particular area.

Citing the success of the venture with the setting of a talun-manufacturing workshop as part of his smart community’s many activities, he told Bernama that the villagers have received a lot of orders from throughout Sarawak, Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia while his younger brother Bell, 44, is a full-time artist specialising in talun abstract painting.

Ideal as a souvenir, a talun vest fetches about RM70 per piece and a topee, akin to the cowboy hat, about RM15 each.

The positive impact of smart communities in reaching out to the people is evident because they realise that only the government can bring about socio-economic progress to the community at large, in terms of poverty and illiteracy eradication, educational advancement as well as land development through agro-based programmes and commercial ventures.

Going by past records, the ability and camaraderie among the ministry’s agencies, including the Information Department, Special Affairs Department, Radio Television Malaysia (RTM), Filem Negara and Bernama, through the ministry’s state-level coordination committee to chart strategies on how best to go to the ground have certainly borne fruit.

In working closely with the state’s stakeholders and other social-related agencies, the ministry’s remarkable performance had been translated into success at every state and parliamentary election, making Sarawak truly the Barisan Nasional (BN) bastion in the country despite the financial constraints faced as well the rugged terrain and vastness of the state.

In the general election on March 8 last year, the Sarawak BN delivered 30 of the 31 parliamentary seats, and retained the Batang Ai state constituency in a by-election on April 7 this year.

At the same time, such communication is an opportunity to channel feedback, such as public grouses and views, from the grassroots to the relevant authorities to enable remedial action to be taken.

Deputy Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Joseph Salang said it was important that the people were aware of and understood the efforts and policies initiated by the government to benefit them.

“To me, it is important to reach out to the people so that they will not be easily influenced by irresponsible quarters because it is much easier to find fault (with the government) but much harder to accept that we are doing something beneficial,” he told Bernama.

Salang, who is the Member of Parliament for Julau, said the correct approach was to impart information through the instilling of good values which, he added, should not be intensified only when an election was just around the corner.

“Let the people be the judge,” he said, adding that, for instance, the “No Smoking” campaign in the longhouses could be viewed as a propaganda by certain quarters who thought they had the right to criticise but were unable to offer any constructive solution.

And in tandem with the 1Malaysia concept introduced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak based on the principle of “People First, Performance Now”, it is imperative for the government through its communication-related agencies to win the “hearts and minds” of the people by providing the best service for their well-being.

– BERNAMA